Study Sheds More Light on Statin Adverse Effects

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has provided more evidence that the muscle weakness experienced by significant numbers of people taking statins, is at least in part, due to decreases in CoQ10.

Statins act on the mevalonate pathway and hence reduce the availability of CoQ10. CoQ10 is of course, a vital component of energy production and a frontline antioxidant. The recent study found that this reduction in CoQ10 (caused by the statin) was accompanied by a compromised energetic state within the muscle.

The prevalence of muscle pain in statin users ranges from 10 percent in patients who are sedentary to 75 percent in athletes.

The researchers also found quiet dramatic changes in blood glucose and insulin levels. These results are displayed in the graph below (taken directly from the study). The patients (those receiving the statin) showed significant increases in blood glucose and insulin resistance. It has been known for some time that statins cause type 2 diabetes, but this fact is often played down by those who support the use of statins. This study has shown, quite clearly, the impact that statins have on blood glucose.

Type 2 diabetes is becoming a worldwide epidemic. According to the CDC, current trends predict that 1 in 3 American adults could have diabetes by 2050. What a perfect situation for the pharmaceutical companies – the tens of millions of people on statins leading to a huge global market for diabetes medications!

References:

Larsen, S et al. Simvastatin Effects on Skeletal Muscle. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013; 61:44-53.

Meador, B.M. and Huey K.A. Statin-associated myopathy and its exacerbation with exercise. Muscle Nerve 2010; 42 469-479.

Machine Strips Essential Nutrients From Body

The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed a machine that can strip out so called ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDLs) from the blood. As I watched this news clip, I felt a chill go down my spine.

The ‘bad’ cholesterol myth has gotten so far out of control that someone has actually built a machine to strip LDLs out of the body.

Unfortunately, Sandra and her doctor have not been told that:

Reducing the level of LDLs INCREASES the risk of heart disease:

http://www.statinnation.net/journal/2009/12/9/bad-cholesterol-is-now-good.html

LDLs contain CoQ10, an essential molecule for energy production and a front line antioxidant. The heart uses huge amounts of CoQ10.  Lowering LDLs will certainly lower CoQ10 levels and low levels of CoQ10 can cause or contribute to heart failure:

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/feb2008_Alleviating-Congestive-Heart-Failure-With-Coenzyme-Q10_01.htm

In cases of familial hypercholesterolemia (very high LDL levels), the problem is more to do with LDL receptors rather than LDLs themselves. Dr Uffe Ravnskov discusses this subject in the extended interviews on the STATIN NATION DVD. Dr Ravnskov states that there are 3 factors that are more important than LDL levels in cases of familial hypercholesterolemia. These are: high serum prothrombin, high fibrinogen and high factor VIII.

More Evidence that Cholesterol is Vital for the Brain and Immunity

Two recent studies have confirmed the vital importance of cholesterol, in particular, for brain function and the strength of the immune system. 

Scientists at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden and Swansea University’s College of Medicine have identified two steroid-type molecules that play an important role in the survival and production of nerve cells in the brain.

These two molecules are cholic acid (a bile acid ) and 24S,25-Epoxycholesterol (a derivative of cholesterol)

24S,25-Epoxycholesterol can be used to turn stem cells into midbrain dopamine-producing neurons, and may help combat Parkinson’s disease.

“...24S,25-Epoxycholesterol, influences the generation of new dopamine-producing nerve cells, which are important in controlling movement.” said Professor William J Griffiths.

"What we have shown now is that cholesterol has several functions, and that it is involved in extremely important decisions for neurons. Derivatives of cholesterol control the production of new neurons in the developing brain. When such a decision has been taken, cholesterol aids in the construction of these new cells, and in their survival. Thus cholesterol is extremely important for the body, and in particular for the development and function of the brain." Ernest Arenas, Professor of Stem Cell Neurobiology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet.

It is important to note that 24S,25-Epoxycholesterol is produced by the mevalonate biochemical pathway – the pathway that is blocked by cholesterol-lowering statins.

The research was published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

The second study was completed by a team of researchers at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Prof. Wolfgang Schamel and colleagues investigated the 'memory' of the immune system. 

When the immune system is first exposed to a new pathogen, it develops the ability to be more sensitive to it when it enters the body the next time. This 'memory' of the immune system is provided by a clustering of T cell receptors. The new study, published in the journals Immunity and Journal of Biological Chemistry, has demonstrated that cholesterol plays a key part in this process.

We already know that one of the most common adverse effects of cholesterol-lowering statins is cognitive decline, and there is a strong correlation between low cholesterol levels and increased infections. 

For more information about the importance of cholesterol, please see the excerpt from Statin Nation below:

References:

Brain endogenous liver X receptor ligands selectively promote midbrain neurogenesis. Nature Chemical Biology 9, 126–133 (2013)  Published online 23 December 2012

Fat Influences Decisions Taken by Brain Cells for Production and Survival. Science Daily December 23, 2012

Swansea University: Latest Research 

Cholesterol Boosts the Memory of the Immune System. Science Daily December 21, 2012  

Cholesterol and Sphingomyelin Drive Ligand-independent T-cell Antigen Receptor Nanoclustering.   The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 287, 42664-42674.

Bad Cholesterol is now Good

People take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL ‘cholesterol’), however ‘bad’ cholesterol may not be as bad as we think.  A study published in the American Heart Journal looked at the cholesterol levels of people who had been admitted to hospital in America with heart disease. The study included 136,905 people – all of these people had their LDL level measured within 24 hours of arrival in hospital. 

The graph below is taken directly from the study. I have marked on the graph the suggested ideal LDL level of 3 mmol/l (or 120 mg/dl). We are constantly told that our risk for heart disease is reduced below this level and above this level our risk increases.

 

We can immediately see that the majority of these people with existing heart disease had an LDL level below the suggested ideal level – LOWER levels of so called 'bad' cholesterol were much more likely to be associated with heart disease than higher levels. This of course is the opposite of what we are expected to believe.

The average LDL level for this group of people was 2.7 mmol/l (or 104 mg/dl). However, the average LDL level for the general population around the same time was 3.2 mmol/l (124 mg/dl).

If people with heart disease have lower LDL levels than the general population, then perhaps we need to rethink the policy of spending hundreds of millions of pounds on reducing LDL levels in the general population.

References: 

Carroll MD et al (2005) Trends in serum lipids and lipoproteins of adults, 1960–2002. Journal of the American Medical Association 294 pp1773–1781.

Sachdeva A et al (2009) Lipid levels in patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease: an analysis of 136,905 hospitalizations in get with the guidelines. American Heart Journal 157 111–117

Video Introduction